Race Around Ireland 2015
Racer Information for Team Average Joes
4 Person Team
This is Team Average Joes, second year in the Race Around Ireland. Last year in 2014, they entered
an 8 Person Team and set a new Irish Record, finishing in 75 hours and 01 minute. They are back in
2015 as a 4 Person Team
The Charity they are cycling for is Pieta House
The Sponsors they would like to thank are:
RKD Floral Display,
Andy Kenny Fitness,
Hutton & Meade,
Kontinental Kitchen Supplies
Click here for their website
Click here for their Facebook page
Read a little bit about each of the riders below:
Race Around Ireland 2015
Racer Name:
Bill Watson
Category:
4 Person Team
Racing Age:
46
Nationality:
Irish
Below is a short Bio of Bill:
Bill Watson:
In my younger days I was an active rugby player enjoying the physicality of the game and intense
training. In those days cycling was a means of transport to get to college and training and I never
considered it as a sport in its own right. Unfortunately numerous injuries limited my ability to
continue to play rugby competitively.
With college over, I spent time in the US where I enjoyed mountain biking on the plains of
Minnesota and for the first time cycling as a form of recreation! A couple of moves back and forth
over the Atlantic, there seemed to be less time for cycling and the bike got rusty in storage at home
in Waterford.
Chasing my kids on Woodstown strand in 2007 ended up being the catalyst for change when I
ruptured my Achilles tendon and ended up under the knife and on crutches for 6 weeks. Realising
my limited ability to carry round my ever growing mass I had to do something.
Once the plaster came off I started walking and resurrected the bike, exploring the Grand canal
towpath each weekend.
An introduction to the Galway Cycle crew, gave me an opportunity to take my cycling to a new level
in great company. Starting with a hybrid at 40 and my first round trip to Galway in March, I was
hooked!
Carbon fibre a year later with the proceeds of the sale of my car, meant that along with now
commuting to work by bike I was moving from one cycling challenge to another in the company of
the great Galway cycle crew.
Completion of the RAI in 2014 as part of the Average Joes eight man team has given me an appetite
for endurance cycling so when the opportunity to do it as a four man team I jumped despite
suffering last year due to the lack of sleep and having a real sense of what is ahead. Let the training
begin!!
Race Around Ireland 2015
Racer Name:
Alan Nugent
Category:
4 Person Team
Racing Age:
36
Nationality:
Irish
Below is a short Bio of Alan:
I grew up with team sports. Football, hurling and soccer were the flavour of the day. I was relatively
successful, wining some leagues and championships in all codes. But that was mainly in my younger
days. In my later years playing the games, successes and victories were increasingly harder to come
across. The hunger to train, the desire to dedicate yourself to the long nights of training, the
demands of college and living away from home, meant that sports were slipping down the hierarchy
of importance.
Some years later I was introduced to cycling, as a way of trying to keep fit and active. The bones and
joints had been showing the wear and tear of overuse throughout my teens and twenties. Cycling
was a perfect fit. With Maynooth Students for Charity I met a great group of people. While the
majority of the group take part in order to raise funds for charity in addition to having a great time
and meeting friends, a smaller group of us began to take things a little more seriously. We began to
take part in various sportives, Tours of Louth, Meath and Kildare, the Ring of Kerry; so many to name
but a few. Slowly we bonded; slowly we became a team, perhaps without even knowing it! The
hunger was back. The team mentality was there again. It was all falling into place.
Then last year happened. Oh and it was awesome! No sooner was it over than people suggested the
Race Across America! 5000 km from west coast to the east coast. I was eager to take part, but I knew
how hard it was to get to where we were.
The RAAM was almost 2 years away (June 2016). I didn’t want to lose anything fitness wise I worked
so hard to earn. I knew I needed something to keep me cycling and training to the required
standard.
Then I was invited to take part in the RAI 2015 as a member of a 4 person team. I jumped at the
chance. I knew the other guys on the team, I knew they were strong, very strong, and I hope they
can drag me along with them. This will be part 2 of the trilogy, and I can’t wait!
Race Around Ireland 2015
Racer Name:
John Fallon
Category:
4 Person Team
Racing Age:
30
Nationality:
Irish
Below is a short Bio of John:
From Castledermot Co. Kildare. From an early age I was involved in sports be it soccer, gaelic football
or hurling. By the time college came around I was still playing football however that also stopped
when college started.
A few more years or college living (and several stone later) left me quite unfit. Then, in late 2005 my
housemate and I decided that we would give the Galway Cycle a go. “Be grand”, we said! At first it
wasn’t. For 2006 and 2007 I got a bike, did some of the training, struggled to Galway and back but
felt a great buzz after the whole experience only for me to put the bike away until the following
spring.
This year I will take part in my tenth Galway Cycle so you could say that what has followed since
would never have happened if I didn’t get involved in the GC.
From 2008, I have taken more challenges such as the Wicklow 100/200, An Post Series events, Ring
of Kerry and the Tour of Kildare to name but a few. I also took up running in 2010 and have taken
part in half marathons, kilomarathons and 10k races as well as duathlons.
In 2014 I was part of the Average Joes 8 man team that eventually won the event and set a new Irish
record in the 8 man category. It was one the best experiences of my life. More than anything the
sense of being part of a team (not only from a cycling point of view but more importantly with the
support crew) was the most enjoyable bit.
The dust had barely settled on RAI 2014 and there was already talk of a 4 man team for 2015. I was
apprehensive at first but now I can’t wait! We have a highly committed and focussed team and I am
delighted to be a part of it.
Race Around Ireland 2015
Racer Name:
Sean Kelleher
Category:
4 Person Team
Racing Age:
48
Nationality:
Irish
Below is a short Bio of Sean:
I’d like to say that I was always a cycling enthusiast however I wandered into the sport like most of
my team only in the last few years..but so glad I did! I’ve always had bikes. From the gloss painted
second hand one I got for Christmas in 1974, through my green Dawes (favourite) and my pink
Raleigh Tourer, but never did anything very challenging on them, except wheelies and cycling with
my eyes closed.
I come from a proud hurling background in which my siblings excelled. I however wasn’t destined for
on the hallowed fields of GAA. Perhaps it was the lack of focus..too busy making mud balls or
chatting to my opponent.
I had better success in water sports such as windsurfing, kitesurfing and swimming and enjoyed
these immensely. However these are more individualistic sports and lacked the social interaction
that I crave.
Again like my teammates a combination of injuries and old age led me back to the bike. While
recovering from a knee injury a former team mate of mine from Maynooth suggested that I might
enjoy cycling. He was right, since then (2005) until now I have never looked back (my neck doesn’t
allow it!)
The real life changing experience came when I joined the Galway Cycle. Finally a club that offers it
all, companionship, crack, costumes, charities and challenges.
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From Stepping Stones, Cystic Fibrosis, DSI, PWAI to Guide Dogs for the Blind.
From Batgirl, Wonder woman, Frill necked lizard to…
From Tour of Kildare, Tour of Leinster, Lap the Gaps and hopefully Ring of Kerry!
From Galeforces, Liffey Swims, Marathons, Ironman and finally the biggest of all..
Race Across Ireland..Bring it on!!!